Planning Thanksgiving? Think birds other than turkey

ASHEVILLE – When Thanksgiving begins to loom large on the calendar, it's generally time to talk turkey. But not everyone will choose to serve the big holiday bird come Nov. 27.

Turkeys are large fowl. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records clocks the largest turkey ever raised at a massive 86-pound bird named Tyson, a female about the size of a large dog who fetched nearly $7,000 in a charity auction.

Most grocery store turkeys can't quite boast that heft, though the average turkey consumed on Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, which yields about 16 servings. That leaves the average family with a whole lot of sandwiches and turkey pot pie (that recipe will be published after Thanksgiving — don't worry).

Though leftovers are fine, and practically as big a part of the Thanksgiving tradition as the stuffing and the pumpkin pie, smaller birds are worth consideration. If the in-laws would consider eating duck, goose or platter of quail tantamount to sacrilege on Thanksgiving, perhaps this year is not the time to forgo the turkey tradition.

But if you're serving a small crowd or preparing Thanksgiving for a party of two, it's worth considering alternatives. Take quail, for example, something that's turning up on plates at the Biltmore Estate with apple butter barbecue sauce.

David Ryba, chef at the Dining Room on the Inn on Biltmore Estate, said quail yields less waste than a turkey, especially with turkey's comparatively gargantuan bones (though turkey stock is a fantastic option for getting as much use out of those bones as possible).

"And you don't have to roast the bird for three hours to get it done," he said of quail, a diminutive bird.

At the estate, Ryba coordinated the dish to coincide with the release of The Hunt, a limited-edition estate-made wine made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes, all sourced from the Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys.

The wine is intended to pay homage to George Vanderbilt's love for field and game, and accordingly goes well with duck, quail and venison. Wine or no, Ryba's quail would be right at home on the Thanksgiving table, he said.

And although cranberry sauce and all of the traditional Thanksgiving accoutrement work fine for quail, Ryba said the tiny game bird takes perfectly to more nontraditional preparations.

"We are in the South, so I like to fry it," he said. "But one of the things I really like is stuffing it with a chorizo stuffing — then it kind of looks like a little miniature turkey, too. Everyone would have their own turkey too, I guess."

For a small group, Ryba also recommends capon, a rooster that's been neutered at a young age. "It grows slower, and the meat is not as tough," he explained. "A capon is soft and gentle — you can always smoke it or stuff it."

Capons are smaller than turkeys, to be sure, but they can still grow to nearly a dozen pounds. For sourcing, Ryba said that any butcher shop or grocery store that sells Joyce Farms products is likely to carry the bird.

Duck is another option, though Ryba recommends cooking the parts and pieces separately. Legs slowly cooked in fat yield rich and moist confit. And breast is best when it's seared, with some of the fat rendered off. "A perfectly cooked duck breast is almost like art," Ryba said.

For Ryba, "field-to-table" is a key tenet of his cooking philosophy. He grew up fishing and hunting for some of the foods the family ate, learning how to butcher in the process.

"I think farm-to-table is what our ancestors have been doing for years," he said. "We're just basically continuing the trend."

Cooking seasonal food is simply the act of trying to procure the best ingredients available, he said. "And the best quality product you can get is local, it's sustainable, as well as in season, meaning you're getting the product at the prime of its flavor."

Field-to-table has a deep history on the estate, Ryba said. "I know that George Vanderbilt wanted to have a working estate," he said. "And on a working estate, he wanted to raise his own animals and vegetables. Even though George is gone now, I know the family is carrying out the tradition."

To that end, the Bitmore Estate farms provide heaps of tomatoes and greens to the Dining Room in season. "And we just recently got 50 pounds of sweet potatoes," he said. "And we get things such as microgreens and an average of four cases of lettuce a week from them."

A recently activated hydroponic grow house will help pad the estate's pantries. The orchards have been expanded, said Ryba, which means that, in a few years, tree fruit is likely to supplement the bramble berries already culled from the gardens. "Whatever the land will produce, they send us," he said.

All of the restaurants on the estate serve the uber-locally raised meat, though the division of parts is interesting. "The Bistro gets the strip loins and the ribeyes and the tenderloin," he said. "I get the bones and the heart and the briskets." The Stable Cafe gets the ground beef, so all of the burgers served there come from estate-raised beef.

Are people eating heart? "They don't sell really well," Ryba said, laughing. "Most of the chefs end up eating it rather than the guests, but it's fun to play with."

Ryba serves heart as tartare, in sausages and pates. "If we run it in features a little bit at a time, we can move a heart or two," he said.

If heart doesn't make you squeamish, it's worth a try. Full of iron and protein-packed, it's a healthy, lean meat — and it's also delicious. But for the Thanksgiving table, it's perhaps not completely appropriate. It's certainly not among Ryba's own Thanksgiving spread.

The chef reports his table is filled with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, peas and macaroni and cheese. "Pretty traditional," he said. "I'm a northerner from Pennsylvania, so starch and lots of meat is always on the table."

BARBECUED QUAIL WITH APPLE BUTTER BARBECUE

Makes 2-4 servings.

For the grilled quail:

4 quail, semi boneless

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 sprig sage, finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon dried mustard powder

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the apple butter barbecue sauce:

1 tablespoons butter

1 green apple, peeled and diced

1 small shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 canned chipotle pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup apple butter

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the grilled quail: Pat the quail dry with a paper towel and place in a large zip bag. Add the garlic, shallots, herbs, spices, brown sugar, olive oil and salt. Gently rub the quail with the herbs and spices. Zip the bag and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate.

For the apple butter barbecue sauce: In a heavy bottomed saucepot, sweat the apples, shallots and garlic in butter over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, Dijon mustard, vinegar and chipotle pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, then add in the apple butter and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and season with Worcestershire and lemon juice. Add salt if needed. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Strain with a fine mess strainer.

Preheat the grill to high heat. Pull the quail out of the marinade and place on the grill. Cook for two minutes, then gently flip the birds and grill an additional two minutes. Remove from the grill and brush the apple butter barbecue sauce on the quail. Right before you are ready to serve, place the quail on a baking sheet, and place under the broiler until the sauce starts to bubble. Enjoy with a glass of the Biltmore's The Hunt.

WHERE TO SHOP

Looking for nontraditional meat for Thanksgiving? Call these shops and grocery stores for information.

•Try hams and more from Foothills Deli & Butchery: 669-8200.

•Whole Foods in East Asheville has duck, rabbit and more: 239-9604.

•Call The Chop Shop on Charlotte Street for the current selection of natural poultry: 505-3777.